Artichokes are an essential Sephardic vegetable.  When I was a child, artichokes were only available in the spring.  Basically the California coast harvest period was from April to June, and then, you had to wait until next year.  Now I see them available in the market, most of the year.

Artichokes are traditionally served for Passover meals.  I have learned to love them steamed whole, grilled, fried, marinated, and in dips.  Roman style in Rome, breaded and fried in Israel, stuffed in Turkey and the Mediterranean, artichokes, that thistle that loves to grow in fields near the foggy coast is truly versatile.